Freedom in the Past
by tenken-no-akiko
Summary: A young woman runs away from home and ends up in the past. Saitouoc pairing. I've had this fic up before but I deleted it, I just found it again on a disk and have edited it some what. Please review!
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin. So don't sue me. All that belongs to me are my own characters.

&flashback&

'thoughts'

" talking" (dur…lol)

AN: This is my first attempt at a Rurouni Kenshin fic so be nice! I don't know if all of my information is correct. So if you see anything that's not right please tell me about it. I'd really like to know. I'm also trying to update this fic every two weeks. Who knows how that's going to turn out but I'm going to try! Also please leave a review. No flames, I'll flame you back. Only constructive criticism and always things you like. Thank you! I hope you enjoy the fic.

Prologue:

"I'm sorry…" a young women, that looked to be about 20, said looking up at the big gloomy house in front of her, "You just don't need me here. I'm sick of being treated like shit. That's why I'm leaving. Good bye…"

With that the young woman took off down a dirt path leading into the woods. She was wearing a pair of skin tight flared blue hip hugger jeans, a black spaghetti strap tank top, and a jacket. She also had a black backpack on her back. It looked to be quite full and possibly heavy. As she walked her knee length long black hair with red tints swayed back and forth behind her. Her bangs were bouncing with every step she took.

'I feel so free. I love it! Now where to go? I've been walking for about 2 hours now aimlessly. It's about time I started thinking of a place to go. I want to get far away from that place before they find out I've left again. I'm not going to get caught this time. That's probably why I've decided to go through the forest. I think I'll take a short rest now…'

The young women stopped walking and looked for a place to sit and take a short rest. She saw a rock that looked like she could sit on and not get dirty. As she sat down she heard a howling noise. It seemed to send shivers down her spine and make the hair on her arms prick up. The sound was far away so she didn't really worry until the sound came again, but closer. Worry started to enter the young woman's mind as she heard a small noise, like the rustling of leaves.

'What if the wolves have picked up my scent and are on the hunt. Wait, why am I so worried? I have daggers and kodachi. I can take of them easily. Wait, I forgot my weapons back in that horrible place. There's no way I'm going back there and even if I were going to I wouldn't make it there. I guess there's only one thing to do…RUN!'

The young women stood up slowly and turned around looking down the path and took off at a dead run. She concentrated on the path and for sounds behind her. She heard the breaking of twigs on the path from her own feet and some from behind her. She also heard the sound of panting and barking. Almost as if the wolves were talking to each other, making a plan to catch their prey.

As she almost hit a low hanging tree branch she decided to keep her attention on the path in front of her. She saw a deep fog ahead. Oh, this is good the wolves won't be able to tell where I am if I get in that fog. But I won't be able to tell where I am either. Well it's better than being a late night dinner! The young woman ran into the fog and slowed a little but still kept on. She wanted to be careful as to not trip over any roots or rocks.

Just as she thought she had lost them and slowed to a walk she heard a howling somewhere to her left, her right, and behind her. She took off at another dead run, but she tripped over a root and fell to the ground. She felt pain go through her head and knew then she was done for then she blacked out.

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The young woman opened her eyes and tried to sit up. She quickly stopped when she felt a throbbing pain in her head. "Ouch!" She said and put a hand to her head. She felt bandages, "What the fuck?"

She looked around to see where she was and saw rice paper walls and a small window. The sun was shining. "Well I see you're awake and such language. Tell me, how does your head feel?"

"Horrible," the young woman said looking at the person who spoke. She had long black hair and bangs. She was beautiful woman. "Who are you?"

"I could ask you the same thing. My name is Takani Megumi. I'm a doctor, how did you get these injuries? " the lady answered.

"Well, I was in the woods and I was being chased by wolves. I saw this fog and I thought maybe if I ran into it that they wouldn't be able to catch me. I was wrong because they still came after me. I was running and I tripped over a tree root and I must have hit my head on a rock or something. Oh, and my name is Hitotsu Michiko," she answered Megumi's question.

"Wait here while I get something to take the pain away from your injuries," with that Megumi left Michiko alone in the room.

As soon as Megumi left four other people entered the room. One was a young boy, about 9 or 10, a young man maybe his late teens or early twenties, another girl the same as the young man, and another man maybe in his late 20's.

"Hi," said the girl. She had long midnight blue hair and she was wearing a purple and pink kimono with a yellow obi. "My name is Kaoru! This is my home we've been taking care of you since we found you injured in the forest. I hope you feel better soon! Oh and this is Yahiko," she said and pointed to the boy. He had spiky black hair and was wearing a yellow gi with green hakama. "And this is Sanosuke," She said pointing to the young man that looked about the same age as her. He had spiky dark brown hair and was wearing all white clothing. He had the symbol for bad on the back of his shirt. "And this is Kenshin," she said pointing towards the oldest of them all. He was different, his hair was long and red. He also wore a pink gi with white hakama. "I hope you like your stay here. We're all really nice! And if you need anything just ask. We'd be happy to help you out!

"Thanks a lot for taking care of me. I really appreciate it. My name is Michiko and it's nice to meet all of you. I don't think this will keep me down for long though, I've had much worse injuries than just a bump on the head. Oh, and could you umm, tell me where I am. Like what city or whatever?" Michiko asked them with a small smile.

"You're in Tokyo at the Kamiya Kashin Dojo," Sanosuke answered Michiko's question, "You must have some kind of memory loss as to where you were when you hit your head."

"Yeah, and what's the date?" Michiko asked.

'How did I end up in Japan? I was in the United States. Maybe these people are just trying to pull my leg? No, this is definitely Japanese scenery. Wait, this is what Japanese homes were like in the 1800's. Maybe I'm in a home where they like to keep things traditional. Yeah, that must be it…' Michiko thought.

"It's June 7th, 1887," Yahiko told Michiko.

'Oh god! I did not just hear that…there's no way in hell that it can be June 7th, 1887. It's impossible because it was 2005 the last time I was awake. This must be some kind of weird punishment those bastards back at that damned fucking house came up with for me. No, there would be terrible pain and they wouldn't come up with something like this. It's far too complicated for their little minds. This is giving me a head ache, well a bigger one. I'll ponder this later…' Michiko thought.

"Are you alright Michiko-dono?" Kenshin asked as he saw her pale.

"I'm fine Kenshin. And please just call me Michiko," Michiko told Kenshin as Megumi entered the room with a tray, a steaming pot sat on it.

"What is everybody doing in here? And so noisy! The poor thing must have a head ache the size of Mount Fuji and here you all are talking loudly. She needs her rest and you guys are in here making her use all of her energy. Especially you Kenshin, of all the people YOU should have know better than this. You know how bad her injuries were, you're the one who found her in the forest outside of the city. I'm ashamed of all of you!" Megumi scolded everybody and they all looked down at the floor.

"It's fine! Really Megumi, I've had far worse injuries than this. Besides, I liked their company. It brought my spirits up quite a bit. What is that you have there?" Michiko asked Megumi referring to the steaming pot she had on the tray she was carrying.

"I've made you some herbal tea that will help you with the pain. You did quite a job on yourself you know. You lost a lot of blood, that's probably why you look so pale. You're quite lucky that Kenshin found you when he did. Otherwise you probably would have died from blood loss," Megumi answered Michiko while pouring her some tea, "This tea has a bitter taste and it will make you drowsy. It will take away the pain though. You're recovering really fast and should be fine to get out of bed in a few days. Until then you need bed rest. So everybody out!"

Michiko watched as everybody said their goodbyes and left the room. Megumi then handed her the cup of tea. Michiko downed all the tea at once and made a sour face "This stuff tastes like shit!" Michiko exclaimed and handed the cup back to Megumi.

"Again with the language! And I told you that it didn't taste good so don't complain, " Megumi said putting everything on the tray. "You should rest now. Just call if you need anything," Megumi picked the tray up and left the room. Shortly after Michiko fell into a deep sleep.

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"My dear what have I told you about running away?" a woman's voice sounded in complete darkness, it was a sickly sweet tone. "Oh how you're going to be punished…"

"N-no…" Michiko said shakily, "P-please don't…"

"Michiko, you know the consequences of your actions. Surely you remember the last time you ran away. We thought you would have learned from _that_ punishment not to run away again. I swear this time you'll be punished much, **_much_** worse," the sickly sweet voice told Michiko with a hint of cruelty.

Michiko looked to where the voice was coming from. She saw a dark form coming closer to her. She tried to step back but felt the cool dampness of stone on her back. "P-please, don't hurt me. Please!" Michiko pleaded to the woman.

"Are you arguing with your keeper!" a cold voice that clearly belonged to a man was heard throughout the darkness. It pierced the seemingly lifeless silence like a knife. "You know you are to obey your keeper! You shall be punished!"

"No, please don't…" Michiko pleaded but knew it was in vain. She slid down the wall as a tear slid down her cheek. She looked up into the darkness and now instead of seeing one shadowy figure she saw two. They were creeping closer and closer. Tears silently slid down her cheeks with every step they took closer to her small trembling form.

Looking up into the darkness she saw that the two figures had stopped coming closer to her. She watched with terror in her emerald green eyes as the smaller of the two forms stepped closer to herself than the other.

"Please, let me punish her first. She has ran away and disobeyed me too many times…" the sickly sweet voice came from just in front of her. Michiko saw the outline of a thin face and two auburn eyes looking at her. When she made contact with those eyes it seemed that her whole body froze and that she couldn't move at all.

Michiko watched as the woman stepped closer to her and extend her arm out. She felt a cold clammy hand touch her face. She also felt the tips of long sharp finger nails just touching her skin.

"I'll show you my dear for disobeying me!" the sickly sweet voice turned into one of cold hatred and menace as those sharp pointed nails dug deep into Michiko's face.

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Michiko screamed and sat up quickly. She was panting trying to get air into her lungs. She heard hurried footsteps heading for her room.

"Michiko-dono! Are you alright!" Kenshin asked sliding the shoji door open and running into the room. He looked down at her. He saw that she was very disgruntled and in a cold sweat. Everybody else also came running into the room shortly after he did. "Michiko-dono? Are you alright?" Kenshin repeated when she didn't answer him after a few moments.

"I'm fine," Michiko told him and just to reassure him she continued, "Honestly, I'm fine."

"Then why did you scream?" Yahiko asked, "I thought you were being murdered or something. Are you sure you're alright. Why did you scream anyways?"

"Oh…I just had a nightmare. I'm alright now, really. You don't have to worry about me. I'm perfectly under control now," Michiko told him with a smile.

"What kind of nightmare?" Yahiko asked curiously.

"Well uh…I'd really rather not talk about it…" Michiko said looking down. "You know what guys? I'm feeling a lot better and I'd really like to get out of this bed. Maybe get some fresh air. That always does you some good…fresh air!" Michiko tried to change the subject. She looked around the room and saw that it wasn't working. Then she remembered about her back pack. "Hey, did you find a black bag when you found me Kenshin? If you did I'd really like to have it back…"

"Huh? Oh yes I did. I gave it to Kaoru-dono. I don't know where she put it though," Kenshin told Michiko, "Why do you want it right now anyways?"

"Before I go out I'd like to change out of these clothes. Their dirty and I want to wear something a little more clean. And if it's possible I'd like to take a bath…" Michiko said with a smile.

"Oh, of coarse you can take a bath!" Kaoru exclaimed, "Kenshin do you think you can go start the fire? I'm sure she wants her bath hot." Kenshin nodded and left to start the fire to heat the water for the bath. "Oh, just wait a minute while I go get your bag. It shouldn't take but a minute."

Michiko listened as Kaoru left the room quickly to get her bags. 'I can't believe this. I'm here in Japan in the late 1800's. This is so weird I just don't know what to do. I can't just free load off from Kaoru. I'm going to have to get a job and pay her back for everything. I wonder what kind of job I can get. I'm sure they have labor work around here. I'm so happy I don't ever have to worry about those bastards trying to 'punish' me ever again. I'm actually free here. That is when I'm awake. Such nightmares are going to haunt me whenever I shut my eyes…'

"Here's your bag Michiko. Don't worry I didn't let anybody go through it. If anything I know how a girl likes her privacy and how some people can be nosey!" Kaoru directed her gaze over to Sanosuke and Yahiko.

"Hey! What are you talking about Missy? I'd never do a thing like that!" Sanosuke exclaimed.

"But Sano, you're the one who said that she probably has some nice 'merchandise' in that bag of hers. And you tried to take it away from her!" Yahiko said.

"You little runt! You weren't supposed to tell anybody that! That was a guy thing and here you are blabbing it out in a room of girls. You've got a lot of learning to do Yahiko…" Sanosuke said putting a hand to his forehead and sighing.

"Boys," Kaoru said and handed Michiko her bag, "Here's your bag. Let me show you the way to the bath house. Do you need help getting up?"

"Nah, I'm fine I can manage by myself," Michiko said and stood up with ease, "My head doesn't even hurt anymore. I think that's mostly because of Megumi's medicine. I just hope that it doesn't wear off soon…"

"If anything that medicine wore off a while ago. All it really does is make you really sleepy and numbs the pain before that. It only lasts until the time you fall asleep. But I guess you're a fast healer or you can take a good amount of pain," Megumi said.

"Oh, well like I said I've had far worse injuries than this that were much more painful. So this doesn't really phase me," Michiko said putting one of the straps of her bag over her shoulder, "Well lead the way to the bath house Kaoru!"

"Okay, just follow me!" Kaoru said and led Michiko out the door. "Tell me where did you come across such clothing? It seems so inappropriate…" Kaoru asked her, "I mean Sanosuke wouldn't stop looking at you. Well, he usually does that to a lot of girls but I think a lot of it had to do with your choice of clothing."

"Well everybody wears clothes like this where I'm from. And if you think this is inappropriate you should see some of the other clothes I have. So are you and Sanosuke a couple or something?" Michiko asked changing the subject from her clothes.

"What! Are you crazy? Me and Sanosuke? That's not going to happen. He's just one of our friends. And if anything I think it would be him and Megumi. Although they have their differences, I think they'd be pretty good together," Kaoru said thoughtfully.

"Oh, so it must be you and Kenshin," a smirk appeared on Michiko's face, "So, how long have you two been together?"

"There is nothing between me and Kenshin either!" Kaoru said with a blush.

"I see, so you like him though. This is going to be fun. I'm going to have to find a way to get you and Kenshin together. And also Sanosuke and Megumi. This is going to be really fun. How about you and me play matchmaker with Sanosuke and Megumi. I know we can do it. They just need a little push," Michiko said to Kaoru, "And I'll help you get Kenshin to never want to leave. What do you say?"

"I don't know…do you really think you can get Kenshin to love me as much as I love him? And with Sano and Megumi, I think all they really do need is a little push to get them going…I'm in!" Kaoru said with a big smile.

"Don't worry about anything. I can do this!" Michiko said with confidence.

"Okay well here's the bath house. Everything is inside, help yourself to anything you need. We'll continue this little conversation later," Kaoru said and left Michiko in front of the bath house.

Michiko just smiled and walked into the bath house. 'This is great! I feel so good. I can't wait for Kaoru's and my plans to take off. This is going to be the best ever. I'm the happiest I've ever been in my life. I don't think things can get any better than this!'

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Well what do you think? Leave a review!


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin or any of it's characters. I do own my own character however (Michiko). If you want to use her just ask.

AN: If you find any wrong information please tell me. I'd really appreciate it. Well I hope you like this chapter. Please R&R. Please no flames.

Chapter 1:

"I feel so much better! Thank you so much for letting me take a bath Kaoru. I really appreciate it. Well since I'm feeling a lot better how about we go out tonight. I mean the night is still young and there's so much of it left we can enjoy. You don't have to if you don't want to. It was just a suggestion if you don't feel like it. But it is really beautiful out tonight. It's warm and there isn't a cloud in the sky so you can see all the stars and the moon is full…it lights up the whole sky," Michiko said walking into the room where everybody was sitting.

She was currently wearing a pair of tight, short, hip hugger, black shorts and an emerald green tank top that came about an inch above her belly button. She knew that Kaoru and just about everybody else would disapprove with her choice of clothing. But hey what did she care? It was her body and she was going to put anything on it that she wanted to. Besides she knew that if anybody messed with her that she could take care of them easily. That was one thing that she was glad of from her horrible life in that place she had once called her 'home'.

Michiko looked around the room and saw that everybody was there plus somebody else that she hadn't met yet. He was tall and wore western style clothing. He was wearing pants and a button up shirt of dark blue. His hair was slicked back and he had two strands of hair framing his face. His eyes were that of a golden-amber color. It was such a strange eye color...Michiko had never seen anything like that before, it made her curious.

She noticed that he was staring at her so she stared back until he averted his gaze from her. That trick usually worked, but this time it didn't. He just stared back at her and said,

"It's impolite to stare. As it is to interrupt people like you just did. Do you know any manners?"

Michiko arched an eyebrow elegantly and retorted, "You were the one who was staring first, so I decided to return the favor. As for interrupting I didn't even know that you were here. If I knew that you had been here I would have been more polite. And talking about manners, who are you to preach about things as such in somebody else's home? Therefore you are just as impolite as I. May I ask your name sir?" Michiko looked this man straight in the eye as she talked to him. She noticed how everybody's eyes widened when she spoke so straight forward to this man. 'Is he somebody important?' she thought.

"My name is Saitou Hajime. And I'll talk anyway I want anywhere I want. Nobody tells me what to do. In fact it's quite the other way around…I tell other people what to do. It's my job, now does this impolite girl that stands before myself so defiantly have a name?" he spoke to her with a smirk on his face. This girl intrigued him. She was different. A women had never spoke so forwardly to him before. Her clothing was very…different too. It revealed far too much for Saitou's taste. 'I wonder if she's a whore…' Saitou thought, 'No, she mustn't be. I don't believe that Kaoru would allow her into her home if that was the case.'

"Maybe," Michiko said putting all of her wait on her right leg, "And since I'm so impolite and defiant maybe I won't tell you. And why can you order people around? You with the police or something?"

"In fact I am. And I order you tell me your name or I will place you under arrest. I think it would be better of you to just answer my question," Saitou spoke to Michiko with a smirk on his face. He obviously thought that he was going to win this.

"Oh, a dirty police officer! Did you know that bribery is crime Saitou? I could get you fired just like that!" Michiko snapped her fingers. Now it was her turn to smirk as she saw a flicker of surprise flash across his face. It left just as quickly as it came though.

"I see you know the law. But you could get in trouble for not answering my question. I could think that you are a suspect of a crime. Therefore you would be the one in trouble," Saitou told Michiko.

Saitou watched as Michiko just started to laugh, "You have to tell me what you are questioning me for before you just start questioning me. I know the law Saitou and I know I'll win this so there's no reason to keep arguing about this. My name is Michiko. Don't think you won though because I know I can beat you in this little game. There's no way you can win it and you know it!"

"You really are an interesting little thing. So your name is Michiko…what's your family name?" Saitou asked looking at her, "And I would have won. I'm a police officer. Besides don't you think that somebody would believe me, a captain of the police force, over you…with the way you're dressed somebody could mistake you for a whore."

"What did you just call me?" Michiko said, her eyes were narrowing to mere slits, "I am no whore! And if you have a problem with the way I dress I think you should just mind your own business. You're not the one wearing the clothes, I am. So fuck off!"

Saitou's eyes widened in surprise. He knew that he had hit a sore spot. He hadn't meant for her to take it so offensively, he was only teasing her. Plus nobody had ever talked to him in such a way. He would have let it pass if she hadn't knew he was with the government, but she did know. This angered him but at the same time it kind of sparked his interest. Not many woman would curse at all much less curse at somebody else, especially him. Yes this woman was certainly different.

"Being the 'expert' in law that you are, I believe you should know that you could be put under arrest right now. You've insulted an officer of the law," Saitou said looking at her.

"You know what? I really couldn't give a shit about the law at the moment. Go ahead and arrest me if you want. I really couldn't care…" Michiko said staring Saitou straight in the eye, "Well if you're not going to I think I'm going to leave now. I've never been to Tokyo before. I think I'm going to go take a look around…"

"Miss Michiko! You shouldn't go alone. It can be dangerous at night. I wouldn't want you to get hurt. Besides you should rest a little more. Your injuries were bad and I don't think that walking around would really do well for you right now. Why don't you just stay home and rest for tonight. We'll show you around tomorrow. Okay?" Kenshin told Michiko obviously worried about her well-being.

"Don't worry Kenshin. I've had injuries far worse than this. I'll be fine, I can take care of myself. Besides, I don't want to be under the same roof as the person who just called me a whore. I'll be back later. Don't wait up for me, I don't know when I'll be in," Michiko said and left the room.

Michiko walked to her own room and put her bag inside. When she turned around she saw that Saitou was in the doorway. "What do you want?" Michiko said. She didn't even bother to hold back the bite in her voice. She really didn't want anything to do with him at the moment.

"Like Kenshin said, it's dangerous to walk about the city at night. And what are these wounds that I heard of? And exactly how bad were they? I think you should just stay home tonight. I'm leaving now anyway so you can't use me as an excuse," Saitou told her, a bit curious about how she could have gotten hurt.

"I only hit my head. It's not like it was life threatening or anything like that. And I'm going to go out for a walk. I could use the fresh air. Besides I need time to think…away from here. So, I've decided a walk is just what I need. Besides, I'm very capable of taking care of myself," Michiko told him and went to walk out the door. He put his arm across the doorway trying to prevent her from leaving. She just ducked under his arm and continued down the hallway.

"At least change your clothes first then. I don't want to have to put up with a rape case. Besides, you don't look very strong. There are some very strong and bad people out there that I haven't been able to take care of yet. So just stay here," Saitou tried to convince her.

"'Whores' can't be raped," Michiko told Saitou in a bitter tone, "Why do you care anyway. Oh wait, I forgot. You just don't want any extra work so, you're trying to prevent anything from happening. Well if anything you won't have to put up with any rape charges because the first person to touch me will have their face smashed in. I promise that. I can protect myself, even if you don't believe it. Do I have to give you a little demonstration?"

"Why not? It's not like you're actually going to be able to hit me…"Saitou said with a smirk.

"That's what you think. You should never underestimate your opponent because that will be your downfall!" Michiko ran at him with full speed but moved to the right at the last moment and gave him a swift, hard kick to the side and a punch to the back of the head.

Michiko watched as he fell to the ground on one knee while holding his side, "I see I really have underestimated you. Even though that was a cheap shot I'll let you go. But only on one condition." Saitou watched as Michiko arched an eyebrow so he continued, "You have to let me go with you. If anything happens I'll let you deal with it. I'll only cut in if you need help. Is it a deal?"

"I guess…" Michiko said with a groan, "Well you'll show me around right? Good! Let's get going. I'm so excited!" Michiko grabbed Saitou's hand and pulled him down the hallway. Everybody stared at them when they saw Michiko pulling Saitou to the door. "I'll be back later guys. See you in the morning because I don't plan on coming home till early in the morning. It's time to PARTY!" Michiko smiled happily and pulled Saitou out the door.

"I see that injuries don't put you down for long," Saitou said to Michiko. They were now outside in the street in front of the Kamiya Dojo. "So where is it that you want to go that there's going to be this 'party'? Or are you going to go around and cause a disaster trying to start one?" Saitou asked her with curiosity.

"Well since you're with me I don't think I'm going to go around and start trouble. I mean, that would be total suicide on my part. I don't want to go to jail, I'm finally free! I don't want to be locked up again. It's so good being able to spread my wings. You know of any good bars we can go to? Don't bring me somewhere that doesn't want a lot of noise because that will just get me kicked out. So, you know any places?" Michiko was so happy her eyes were sparkling like the stars above their heads.

"I know of a few places. But they're not really all that big on the whole 'party' concept. They're more for the blues. But we can look around and ask a few people if you want," Saitou told Michiko then sighed, "I can't believe I'm doing this. You're going to end up getting me drunk."

"It was your idea hotshot, you're the one who said you'd take me around the town. Sorry, I'm something of a wildfire…I guess I should have warned you. Just stop me from doing anything stupid, okay?" She watched as Saitou raised an eyebrow at her question, "You know if I start a fight or anything or if I just do something I shouldn't be. I haven't ever done anything like that before, but you know there's always that first time…So you'll look out for me right?"

"Alright, I'll look out for you. That was the whole point of my coming along in the first place. There wouldn't be any sense in the matter otherwise. Now come on I don't want to waste this whole night just talking in front of where the Battousai lives," Saitou said and started to walk away from Michiko to find a place she wanted to go.

"Hey! Wait up," Michiko said and ran up to keep pace with Saitou, "Won't your wife be mad that you're out so late? And especially with me, I don't want to start a problem. So you can just go home if you want. I really can handle myself."

"So, you're already trying to ditch me, huh? Well it isn't going to work. As for my wife she left me eight months ago. She said that I wasn't her 'special someone' and all that. It's not like she benefited me at all. She didn't even bare me any children and she was too much like all the other women out there," Saitou said lighting up a cigarette.

Saitou felt Michiko fall back so he stopped to look behind him at her. She was standing there looking at him with big sad eyes. "That's so sad! How could somebody just leave somebody else like that after being married to them. It's horrible! You need a hug," Michiko hugged Saitou tightly around his middle.

Saitou tensed as she hugged him but then relaxed. 'Just when I thought that I'd figured her out she goes and pulls a stunt like this. She so much of everything rolled into one. She's unpredictable…first she's rude, then she's angry, then excited, and now compassionate and affectionate. Tokio was never like this, she would never had done something to show such affection towards me, especially in public. This young woman is carefree and afraid of nothing. She's so different…so much more than anybody else,' Saitou thought.

"I know what you're thinking Saitou. 'What the hell do you think you're doing?' Well, no matter who you are, everybody needs a hug sometimes. And you definitely needed one. So don't go telling me off or anything because I'm really not listening at the moment. Now let's get going, we're going to go to a party that I think you deserve," Michiko told Saitou and grabbed his hand leading him down the street.

"Let's try this one," Michiko said stopping in front of a place where a lot of noise was coming from, "I think this might be the place we're looking for. Come on!"

"You said that at the last four places we've been to Michiko. You really are an indecisive person. I hope you don't have to make a choice between life and death anytime soon. You'd probably choose death over life…" Saitou said exasperatedly.

Michiko pulled Saitou into the bar. There were people fighting on one side of the room and others singing and others just sitting at the bar drinking quietly. Michiko led Saitou to the bar and took a seat next to somebody who looked like they were about to fall out of their seat. "What can I get you?" A lady in a lot of makeup said from behind the bar.

"We'll have a bottle of sake," Saitou spoke before Michiko could.

"No, he'll have a bottle of sake. You got any western drinks here?" Michiko asked and the lady nodded. She pulled out a bottle of brandy, whiskey, and some moonshine. "What's the hardest you got?" Michiko asked the lady. She pointed to the moonshine. "I figured that, I'll take some," Michiko said with a smile.

"Are you sure you should have that Michiko?" Saitou asked, "You've drank at every bar we've gone to. I don't think you need anymore, especially something like that. That's hard stuff, I don't know if you'll be able to handle it."

"I can handle it, I've drank a whole jug of that stuff before. No, I can't remember anything after I did, but I've hardly had anything that's worth counting tonight so, a little bit of this shouldn't do me any harm. Besides, I'm out to celebrate my long deserved freedom tonight! I should be able to drink all I want," Michiko told Saitou as the lady bartender stood up and yelled to get everybody's attention.

"Everybody! We have somebody going for some of our hardest stuff! You all know what that means, put your money in if you think she can't do it. If the drinker does it they get all the money. Everybody put your money in now. Good luck sweetheart!" The lady said to Michiko as everybody put their money in the middle. "Now here it goes!" the lady said handing Michiko a small cup of the moonshine.

Everybody watched as she downed the moonshine without making a single face. They all looked at her in astonishment when she said, "That's better than that whole jug I drank back at home. Can I have another one please?"

"Sure thing dear," the lady said looking at her with wide eyes, "And here's your money. You know what? You're the first person to be able to do that without even making a face. Quite frankly I'm proud that you did it, you just proved to all those men that women can take more than what they give us credit for. Here you go."

Michiko downed her second cup of moonshine, "You should have some of this Saitou. You can tell it's good because it burns going all the way down. Well, I think we should leave this place now. We just took a lot of drunk guys money who thought that they weren't going to lose it and I really don't want any trouble."

"Yes, I guess you're right. Let's go," Saitou got up from where he was sitting and gave Michiko a hand up. She took his hand and stood up then bowed gracefully while giggling lightly. "Oh, I see you've learned some manners. It's about time…" Saitou told her playfully, "You really can hold your drinking, can't you? But then again that moonshine hasn't come into full effect yet. Let's go." He watched as Michiko walked over to him swaying slightly. He put an arm around her to steady her so she could walked. "What would you like to do now. It's about 3 o'clock in the morning. Would you like to go back to Kaoru's?" Saitou asked her as they walked out the door, "You see, it's a good thing that I came with you. If you were attacked right now you wouldn't stand a chance, you're too drunk"

"I would stand a chance. I'd beat the living shit out of them either way. I never lose my cool in a fight. I always concentrate no matter what 'condition' I'm in. I've fought when I was drunk before, but that was different…" Michiko said looking up at the stars, "But I don't have to worry about that anymore. Because now I'm free! I can do as I please!"

"You keep talking about how you're free now…were you in prison before this?" Saitou asked her curiously. He walked with her aimlessly. Soon he saw the river before him. He led Michiko down the bank to sit on the grass next to the waters edge. It was a peaceful night and beautiful as she had said earlier. He didn't want to bring her home yet anyways, she had a secret and he wanted to get it out of her.

Saitou watched as Michiko laughed about his earlier question, "Prison would have been much better, more like heaven compared to where I was." She laid back on the grass and looked up into the sky, the stars reflected in her emerald eyes, "I like being able to look up at the stars and lay on the grass. I like this new feeling of being able to do what I want and not get…" Michiko stopped her sentence as though it brought her pain.

"And not get what?" Saitou asked her while laying down next to her. He turned on his side to face her. Michiko turned her head to face Saitou. He saw sadness and pain in her eyes. "Michiko, what did you get?" Saitou asked her softly while gently caressing her cheek with hand.

Michiko said in a barely audible whisper, "Punished…" Saitou watched as she looked back up at the stars away from him and a tear slid down her face.

'She really must have went through a lot. I feel poorly for her. She seemed so carefree yet she holds such a dark past. I wonder what kind of punishments she could have received from these sick people. I won't ask her anymore tonight. She told enough of her past to me. Earlier she gave me comfort, maybe I should return the favor…' Saitou sat up and looked over to Michiko, tears were falling silently from her eyes. "Don't shed anymore tears," Saitou told her wiping her tears away gently, "That's what they'd want you to do."

Saitou watched as she wiped her eyes and sat up looking at him. He hugged her tightly to his body, she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him back pressing her face into his shirt. After a few minutes of staying like that he heard her start to giggle, "Who would have thought that you'd give me a hug?"

"Now there's the Michiko I know. You had comforted me earlier so I thought that it was only right for me to comfort you now. Besides, you needed a hug far more than I did. Don't you think so?" Saitou said looking down at her as she pulled away from the comforting embrace, "You better not tell anyone about this. I have a reputation to uphold you know. I can't let it get around that Saitou Hajime goes around giving hugs to people and that he feels sad. So this is between you and I, got it?"

"Don't worry I won't tell anyone. But only if you don't tell anyone I was crying. That would be horrible. I feel like such a cry ass," Michiko said with a sigh, "I feel a lot better now though. I feel like I've had a huge weight taken off of my shoulders. I've been holding everything in for so long. Now I've finally let it all out, I never had anybody else there before. Thank you Saitou."

Michiko hugged Saitou again, but this time he hugged her back. "Don't worry about it. I'm happy that you could get that out. If you didn't it could have caused you to commit suicide. I wouldn't want to have to put up with that. And no, it's not because I'd have more work to do. It's because I know who you are and I don't want you to die. Now, I think we should be getting you back home. You need your rest and try not to throw up all over Kaoru's home. I don't think that she'd appreciate that too much.," Saitou told Michiko pulling back from the embrace and holding her at arms length with his hands on her shoulders.

"Saitou, I don't want to go back there tonight. Do you think I could stay with you tonight?" Michiko watched as Saitou raised an eyebrow at her statement, "It's just that I don't know Kaoru and them very well and um, uh…I know you more. Please can I stay with you if it isn't that much trouble? Please?" Michiko looked up at him with big innocent eyes.

"Alright I guess you can. And don't look at me like that," Saitou said, "But we'd better go leave a note or tell the Battousai that you're going to be staying with me. I know he's still up and waiting for you to come home. Plus, you probably would like something else to put on to go to sleep. So we'll grab your clothes while we're there."

"Alright let's go!" Michiko said with a smile and she grabbed Saitou's hand and started leading him back to the Kamiya Dojo. She wasn't pulling him this time she was just holding his hand gently and walking slowly. He wrapped his fingers around her much smaller hand as they walked back to the Kamiya Dojo to get her things and talk to the Battousai.

"Okay, we're here," Saitou told Michiko in front of the Kamiya Dojo, "We should be quiet as not to wake anybody. I believe the gate has a bell on it when it opens it will wake everyone up so we should jump over it. I can carry you if you would like." Saitou looked over to Michiko, or where she just was. He heard a low whistle and saw her standing on top of the gate. "How did you…" Saitou started but she put a finger to her mouth and waved for him to hurry up before she jumped over to the other side.

Saitou listened for the sound of her landing but heard nothing. He knew that there was still much more behind her secret. No ordinary person would be able to be that stealthy. Saitou jumped over the gate soundlessly. He saw Michiko waiting for him in the shadows of a nearby tree. He knew it was her because of the color of her eyes. He would never be able to mistake them. They were an emerald green color, like lush green grass. Saitou walked over to her as she turned and started to head for the entrance of Kaoru's home.

Just before Michiko opened the door it slid open to reveal Kenshin, "I see you're home Miss Michiko. It's very early in the morning. I thought that when you said that you'd be home late that you meant around midnight. I was just about to go out and look for you. I didn't even here you come in."

"We didn't want to wake anybody up so we were quiet. I told you not to wait up for me and that I would be getting in late. Besides, I'm not staying here tonight. I'm going home with Saitou. I hope you don't mind. We just came to make sure you guys knew where I was so you wouldn't worry and to get my things. You don't mind do you?" Michiko asked Kenshin after explaining to him what she was planning to do.

"That's only if Saitou agrees to this and that he has in mind that he has work in only just a few hours. I'm sure you wouldn't want yourself to be a nuisance to him," Kenshin told Michiko.

"Don't worry about it. I don't have to work today and I've already agreed that she can stay with me tonight. I wouldn't have offered to take her out if I knew I had to work early in the morning. Don't be so worrisome Battousai. I have no problem with her staying with me if she wants to," Kenshin gave Saitou a look as to say maybe she doesn't want to, "And yes Battousai I know she wants to because she asked me if she could stay with me tonight."

"I see," said Kenshin, "Very well then I'll go get your bag Miss Michiko. Wait right here." Kenshin left Michiko and Saitou in front of the dojo while he went and got Michiko's bag. Saitou just stood there silently while awaiting for Kenshin to return with Michiko's bag. Kenshin came back with Michiko's backpack in hand. He handed it to her and said, "There you go Michiko. I trust that I may see you again later in the day?"

"Sure, well we'll be going now. Sweet dreams Kenshin!" With that Michiko smiled and turned around to leave, "Come on Saitou. I don't know where you live so I can't very well lead the way." Saitou turned around and walked ahead of Michiko. She followed behind him. She felt that Kenshin was still watching them when they jumped over the fence and started to walk away from the dojo.

When Michiko jumped over the fence she saw Saitou standing there waiting for her. "I don't believe the Battousai wanted you to come with me. He tried to stop you, if you didn't notice," Saitou spoke as the started walking, Saitou slightly in front of Michiko, "If you're wondering, the Battousai doesn't trust me. We were enemies in the war. I tracked him for a long time. I was Shinsengumi and he was an imperialist assassin. We did fight, but as you can tell neither one of us had died."

"I see," said Michiko walking a little faster to walk evenly with Saitou, "I did notice that he didn't want me to go. I also sense tension in the air when you too are in the same room. Why do you still fight? The war is over and it's a time of peace. You both should be enjoying it and getting along." Michiko looked up at Saitou, he was about a whole head taller than her.

Saitou looked down at her and said, "It's hard to put the past away so easily when you were raised by the sword. It doesn't leave you. We don't fight either, we just dislike each other. As for getting along as good friends that's probably never going to happen. I won't forgive him for all the lives he's taken. He is still a criminal in my mind." Saitou looked forward again and stopped walking. "We missed a turn…" Saitou said and turned around with Michiko following him.

"But you probably killed a lot of people too. Doesn't it bother you?" Michiko said looking up at him. She knew how hard it was to live with fact that you had taken anothers life…repeatedly. She knew how difficult it was to live with that fact and the fact that if you have known nothing but the way of the sword that it was near to impossible to let it go. She knew it was difficult not having her weapons with her, it made her feel vulnerable.

"No, I fought for something I believed in. That's all that really matters. What does bother me is that I didn't win in what I was fighting for. All those people dead for no reason. I feel it would have been worth it if we had came out victorious. Otherwise their deaths were in vain on my part," Saitou told Michiko as the two of them turned left.

Saitou felt Michiko grab his hand and squeeze it gently. He looked down at her and saw her smiling up at him. It gave him comfort and he smiled back. "You know what? I think everything I drank is catching up with me," Michiko told Saitou. He saw that she was sort of stumbling and that she couldn't walk straight. He sighed and picked her up bridal style. "Eek! What are you doing!" Michiko exclaimed when Saitou picked her up, "I can walk you know. I'm not crippled!"

"You're too drunk. I don't want you to fall and hurt yourself," Saitou said looking down at her. She was light he noticed…and was very thin. "Have you been eating?" Saitou asked and Michiko gave him a confused look, "You're very thin. When was the last time you ate?"

"Um…I think yesterday morning. And talking about food, I'm starving! When we get to your house can I have something to eat?" Michiko asked him and relaxed in his arms. She laid her head on his chest under his chin. "You're so warm…" Michiko said snuggling into him, "I'm kind of cold."

"It's no wonder why. You're hardly wearing anything. I'm surprised that nobody tried to do anything to you," Saitou said to Michiko as she was playing with one of the buttons on his shirt.

"Oh, I heard them talking about it," Michiko told him, "But they wouldn't do anything." Saitou heard her start to giggle. "They thought you were my husband. They said that if they tried anything you'd probably kill them. I think I should go out with you more often. I get to have more fun and not get disturbed or have my good mood turn sour. So we're definitely doing this again sometime. Okay?" Michiko looked up at Saitou smiling.

"Not for a while. I haven't drank this much in a while. Not since I got over Tokio leaving me. I wasn't really in love with her but I still cared for her," Saitou said quietly, he felt Michiko her arms around his neck and hug him, "You sure do like to give hugs, don't you? I never would have let somebody hug me before I met you. The weird thing is that I've only just met you today. Can you reach into my pocket and get me a cigarette?"

"Only if you give me one too," Michiko told him. She felt him nod and she took two cigarettes out of his pocket and some matches. She put one of the cigarettes in her mouth then the other one in Saitou's mouth. She struck a match and lit his cigarette first then her own. "The perfect way to end the perfect night. I haven't had a cigarette in who knows how long. And I like to give hugs. If I can't get them at least I can give them," Michiko told him and took a drag.

"Not many women I know like smoking much less smoke themselves. You truly are the strangest woman I've ever met. You dress weird, talk rudely, use foul language, and most of all you aren't afraid of me…or probably anybody else for that matter," Saitou told her blowing smoke into the air, "We're here. I'm going to have to let you down for a minute so I can unlock the door."

"Okay," Michiko said as Saitou set her on the ground. He rummaged through his pockets for the key and unlocked the door letting them in. He walked into his house and she just stood in the doorway. "You said you were only going to put me down for a minute," Michiko said jokingly to him. To her surprise Saitou picked her back up and brought her inside. "Hey, I wasn't being serious you know. You really didn't have to pick me back up again. But hey, what ever floats your boat," Michiko said as Saitou walked into his house with her in his arms.

"Here you go," Saitou said as he set Michiko down in the kitchen, "Now what would you like to eat?"

"It doesn't matter. I'm hungry enough to eat anything at the moment," Michiko said as she looked around, "You got a nice place here, a little messy, but it's okay. You can't expect it to be spotless with a man living here…"

Michiko smiled at Saitou as he raised an eyebrow, "I see, well how about some rice and fruit? It's easy enough to make." Saitou took some rice out of the cupboard and some fruit out of a basket on the counter. He put some water in a pan for the rice then started to make tea. "Help yourself to the fruit," Saitou told Michiko and he tossed her an apple that she almost didn't catch, "Sorry, I should have handed that to you." He put the rice in the pan and put it down to cook. "While this is cooking I'll show you where you can sleep. Come with me," Saitou said and left the kitchen.

"This apple tastes good. I haven't had one in so long, or rice for that matter," Michiko said and followed Saitou, "You make a good little house keeper. You do your own laundry too, huh? I don't see why she left you. Where I'm from you'd be any woman's dream guy, you do your own chores and you're good looking to boot."

"I'll take that as a complement," Saitou raised an eyebrow and looked back at her, her cheeks were tinted red, "Here's your room." Saitou opened a shoji to show her a small room with a window, a small dresser, and a rolled up futon with blankets and pillows. "You can change while I go take care of the food," Saitou left her alone in the room.

Michiko set her backpack down and opened it. She dug through the clothes in it and couldn't find anything comfortable to sleep in besides a pair of shorts that were skin tight and short enough to be men's briefs and a t shirt that ended right below her breasts and had a dangerously low neckline. 'Maybe I should ask him for something to wear. No, I can't do that. This will have to do…'

Michiko got dressed quickly and left the room. She kept pulling her shorts down then had to pull them back up because they'd show to much that way. As for her shirt, it hardly covered her and she didn't touch it because she didn't want to screw up how she had got it to cover her as it was. She walked into the kitchen to see Saitou putting rice in bowls for the both of them. "Guess who?" Michiko said as she went up behind Saitou and put her hands over his eyes, "That smells good. I can't wait to eat it!"

"Michiko," Saitou said when he felt her body pressed up against his with her hands over his eyes, "I can't let you eat if I can't see what I'm doing." Saitou heard her giggle and remove her hands. He finished putting the rice in the bowls and turned around to face her. "What in gods name are you wearing?" Saitou sputtered as he saw what covered Michiko, and how it covered very little of her.

"Well, it's the only thing I could find to sleep in. I was going to ask you for something to wear but you've done enough for me and I didn't want to bother you. Is that mine?" Michiko asked taking one of the bowls of rice from his hand and started eating it. "It doesn't offend you does it? If it is I can find something different…less comfortable but different. This is good. You're definitely making breakfast later on," Michiko said as she sat down at a small table on the far side of the kitchen. "Care to join me?"

"It's not offending I just thought that you'd have some thing…more to wear," Saitou said and took a seat across from her, "And it wouldn't have been a problem for me to give you something to wear. I could get you something else when we're done eating, if you want that is." Saitou took a bite of his rice.

"Okay, sounds good to me," Michiko said yawning, "Wow, I'm tired. After that I'm going to bed. Saitou, I was wondering if you could help me find a job? I can't just freeload off from people, it doesn't feel right for me." Michiko finished her rice and got up to put the bowl in the sink.

Saitou watched her as she got up. 'Dear gods! She has to get more clothes on. She's a very attractive woman. I'm going to have to talk to her about wearing more clothing in public too. I don't want anything to happen to her,' Saitou thought. "We'll talk about getting you a job later on. Now we can get you into some different clothes, some that actually cover you," Saitou said as he got up and put his bowl in the sink as well, "Come on."

Saitou left the kitchen with Michiko trailing behind him. He took her to his room and showed her where his clothes were. He left her alone to pick something out and change.

'Hmm…what should I pick out. Maybe I'll have a little fun before I actually get into some night clothes, Michiko thought as she saw some of his work uniforms. Let's just see what he thinks when I try to be him…' Michiko giggled as she put on the uniform. The pants were a little a lose but that didn't mater. The shirt was tight on her chest and loose on her abdomen. She had the first few buttons unbuttoned to show off a tiny amount of cleavage.

"Hey, you," Michiko said walking out of the room and spotting Saitou, "What are you doing in my house? I'll show you no mercy!" Saitou raised an eyebrow as Michiko walked up to him. She was wearing his uniform and apparently trying to be like him. He watched as she raised her hands in a fighting stance. She moved quickly and started to tickle his sides.

He tried to move away but she wouldn't let him, "You'll pay dearly for trespassing!" Michiko started to giggle and stopped. "So what do you think?" Michiko asked as she turned around modeling his uniform, "Do I look good or what?" Michiko struck several poses and winked at him.

"I thought you were looking for something to sleep in," Saitou said watching her, "I don't think you're going to sleep in that. And stop your ridiculous modeling, even if it does look good on you, you should know that the uniform looks better on me." Saitou sighed as she started to giggle. "You've had way too much to drink. I think it's time for you to go to bed," Saitou said as he took her by the arm and led her back into the room.

"You're such a party pooper, Saitou," Michiko sighed as she let him lead her back into the room, "You sound like a cranky old man. It really doesn't suit you, you know that right? And the uniform looks much better on me. You would see that if it fit my form, not yours. Anyways, let's see what we have here that I can wear to bed." Saitou watched as Michiko went through his clothes picking out a pair of his boxers and a black t-shirt. Not caring whether Saitou was there or not she started to take off the top of the uniform. He didn't know what she was doing until he saw it slip off her shoulders since her back was to him. Michiko heard Saitou move as the uniform top started to slide down her shoulders. "It's not like you haven't seen a naked woman before," Michiko said pulling the black t-shirt over her head then pulling down the pants of the uniform, "I mean you were married before Saitou. Surely, you did…that with her."

"I swear, you have no modesty at all," Saitou said his back turned to her, "If you were around anybody else, minus a few people, you would surely have been raped by now. You're quite lucky, you know that right?"

Michiko was finished dressing and she was silently creeping up behind Saitou. "If you two didn't, I think you had a bad relationship in all ways," Michiko said putting her hands on Saitou's back and moving them in slow small caressing circles.

Saitou tensed slightly when he felt Michiko touching his back, she was quiet and he didn't expect anything to be touching him. "She performed her…wifely duties. No, it didn't have any meaning so it was seldom done," Saitou relaxed as Michiko stopped moving her hands, "I don't even know why I'm telling you all of this. It makes no sense, I've never been this open with anybody, not even her."

"I feel special," Michiko said sliding her hands around him to hug him from behind, she rested her cheek on his back, "It's better for you when you get things out in the open. I know after what I told you earlier I felt a lot better. You get depressed when you don't let people know what's bothering you." Michiko felt Saitou pull away from her lose embrace and she watched as he turned around to face her. "Is something wrong?" Michiko asked as Saitou looked down at her, "Do you want me to leave to my own room?"

"No," Saitou said and smiled gently, "You can stay in here as long as you would like. It isn't a problem at all. I'm not really that tired anyways. You're right it does feel better when you talk about things, thanks for listening." Now it was Saitou's turn to give Michiko a hug. He hugged her tightly around the shoulders. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him back tightly. "You know Tokio and I didn't marry because we were in love…it was a planned marriage by our parents. We actually never really knew each other and we made no bother to get to know each other. So it just stayed at she was my wife and I was her husband. She's found somebody that actually loves her, she's probably happier now," Saitou said into Michiko's hair. He noticed that she smelled of sweet flowers, he liked how she smelled.

"But what about your happiness?" Michiko asked him as she looked up into his eyes, "You deserve to be happy too. And don't go and tell me that you're really happy right now because I know you're not. I'm going to find you somebody that will make you really happy. I promise, then you won't be lonely anymore"

"Michiko, I am happy right now, at this very moment I'm the happiest I've been in a very long time. I'm not lonely right now either. In fact I would very much like you to move in here with me," Saitou saw Michiko open her mouth to protest, "No, you won't be freeloading. I'll find you a job, I've already got one in mind. Even though my pay is enough for the both of us and probably 3 more but I'll help you find a job. You're a very independent woman as I can see. I want you to be happy too."

"You really mean I can move in here with you?" Michiko exclaimed happily, getting excited, "And you'll really help me with getting a job? Thank you so much Saitou, you don't know how much this means to me. So what kind of job do you have in mind? And let's sit down, I'm getting tired of standing." Saitou nodded and picked her up then set her on his bed and he sat down next to her. Michiko looked at the bed, she hadn't noticed earlier that he had a western style bed, "That isn't fair Saitou. You get a good bed and I don't," Michiko said bouncing up and down on the mattress and she heard a soft squeaking noise, "When I move in please tell me if you're going to have a lady friend over so I don't have to listen to it. Okay?" Michiko smiled jokingly up at him.

"I don't go for prostitutes so you don't have to worry about any of that. Now about the job," Saitou watched Michiko straighten up and listen to him closely, "Well, I was thinking that if you're good at organizing things and taking messages that you could be my secretary. That also means that you'll have to show manners to people. I wouldn't want to have to arrest you. Do you think you could behave yourself enough for this job Michiko?"

He watched as she smiled and then started to pull the covers down on his bed, "Yeah, that sounds great. I'm staying here tonight, I hope you don't mind." Michiko snuggled into his bed and pulled the covers up to her hips. The shirt Saitou had let her wear had ridden up when she got in the bed. It now showed from her bellybutton down to the waistband of the boxers she was wearing.

"You can stay in here and I'll go stay in your room," Saitou said as he started to get up and leave.

Just as he turned to leave he felt Michiko grab his hand. "No, I don't want you to leave," she told him with her cheeks burning red, "I want you to stay here with me. I don't want to be alone. Won't you please stay with me Saitou?" Saitou looked down into Michiko's eyes. Even though she went a little far at times he knew she was innocent. She was looking up at him innocently and pleadingly. She truly wanted him to stay with her. She just wanted him to be there with her.

"Alright," Saitou told her, "But only if you want. If you wake up and don't remember asking me to stay here it's going to be your own problem. Got it?" Michiko just giggled and nodded at him. She then scooted over to let him in but he didn't move. "I've got to change first," he told her and her cheeks turned crimson again, "You can either leave the room or not peek. Whatever one is good for you."

Michiko turned on the bed so she was lying on her stomach. She had her face pressed into the pillows. As much as she would love to peek at him she wouldn't. She had to admit he was very attractive and she loved his bad ass attitude. Truthfully, Michiko didn't know what she would have done if she hadn't met him. He was right about earlier, if he hadn't been with her that night she didn't know if she would have been able to take on all of them thugs. Just the thought of it made her stomach churn.

Michiko felt somebody get on the bed with her and then she felt a hand on her back. "You can look now," came Saitou's voice from right next to her ear, "I swear I'm decent. For you talking about me seeing a woman's body, I don't think you've ever seen a man's body." Michiko turned over to look at him her face was a brilliant red. She looked at him to see him clad in pretty much the same thing she herself was in, all for the exception that he had no shirt on.

Saitou looked into her eyes, his left arm was holding him up over her, they're lips were about two inches apart from each other. He watched her lick her lips and look back up into his eyes. He saw how her cheeks were stained red and he knew that she was still innocent. He hoped that nobody would ever take that away from her. "So what if I haven't ever seen a man's body. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. It just goes to prove that I'm not a whore and I don't think there's anything wrong with that either," Michiko told him.

"Your right, there isn't anything wrong with that at all. It's strange though, most women your age would have already been married and starting a family at your age. But then again, you're not like most women," Saitou told her smiling, "You're different than any other woman I've ever met. Most men like women with manners and good habits."

"Well, I don't care what most men like. I'm me and if they don't like it they can all go fuck themselves. And that's exactly what I have to say," Michiko told Saitou, "Besides, I want to marry somebody who loves me and wants to spend the rest of their life with me. I don't want somebody to marry me just for what I can do or anything like that. I want them to love every aspect of me. I know it's going to be hard to find somebody that will do that because I'm difficult, but I know I'll find that person someday…"

"I wish I could have had that option," Saitou told her lying next to her and turning on his side to face her, "I was married to Tokio for the agreements with her father and mine. But now that she is gone, I think I might be able to find somebody just like you're going to try to find somebody. It's going to be just as difficult for you as it is for me. Most women run away from me in fear."

Saitou chuckled and Michiko smiled at him. "We'll make it through this. Don't worry. If anything I learned that hope and determination is the key to success. If it wasn't I'd still be where I was before. But you also have to be brave because if I got caught running again they…" Michiko stopped talking, "I don't feel like talking about this okay?"

"We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," Saitou told her, she had turned on her side to face him, "But just for your wondering, you're the one who brought the whole subject up. So don't try to blame it on me. Oh and if you utter a single word about any of our conversations to anyone I swear I'll get you back."

"You've already told me that," Michiko told him bluntly, "Don't worry I won't tell anyone as long as you don't tell anyone anything I said…about anything. Not just that I got all emotional, which if you told anybody I'd kick your ass, but also about my past. I don't want people to be kind to me just because they pity me. I don't like that. I know when they do that because of their eyes. You were doing it earlier, I wanted to smack you and tell you not to look at me. But I do have some manners, so you can't say I don't have any at all."

"Alright, I promise I won't tell anybody about any of it. So don't worry about it. As for the manners, we'll work on them. If you're going to be working in my office you'll need to be very formal or else you won't be able to work there. Do you hear me Michiko?" Saitou asked. She had her head on his chest and he didn't think she was listening. Saitou felt her grab his shoulders and press her face into his chest.

"Michiko?" Saitou asked again but there was no answer. 'Must have fallen asleep…well she needs the rest. I'll talk about her requirements for the job later on,' Saitou thought and pulled the covers up over him. A few minutes later both Saitou and Michiko were asleep in each others arms. And for once in both their lives, they had peaceful dreams.

End of Chapter 1

So what do you think? I'm sorry I didn't put Saitou in the prologue, I just wanted to get things setup. If you have any idea's or anything or if you think I should change something don't be afraid to tell me. I like it when the readers tell me what they like. Without you guys reading it there wouldn't be any reason to write it. I do plan on putting a lemon in this sometime in the future. I don't know when though. Please R&R!


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